August 2022, Year XIV, n. 8
Federico Freni
The Camerlengo of the State Budget Law
Telos: When you were appointed Undersecretary, the headlines in the papers were something along the lines of “Here comes the nice lawyer”. What did that mean at the time and what has it meant during this year of government?
Federico Freni: I don’t remember which newspaper coined that definition, but I do remember that I smiled as I read it. See, I believe that, in this world, one more smile is always better than one less, especially in a context like politics, where smiles are rare. It doesn’t just mean being nice as much as listening to what everyone has to say, the majority and the opposition alike, and finding the fairest way to bring everything together: because no majority will ever be completely right and no opposition will ever be completely wrong ...more
Editorial
We would like to reveal the identity of our guest in the August issue of PRIMOPIANOSCALAc little by little. Is it a man? Yes. What’s his job? Lawyer and university professor. Is he young? Yes, by Italian standards, I’d say he’s very young. Is he aggressive and argumentative? No, he’s quite the opposite! Is he a music and literature buff? Yes. This isn’t a very fitting description of your average generic government representative. But this is our guest, and this is what he does (or at least what he’ll be doing until a new government is formed). He is the Undersecretary to the Ministry of Economy and Finance for the Draghi Government, appointed by the Council of Ministers on 23 September to replace the outgoing Undersecretary Claudio Durigon on 28 September 2021. He was also chosen for his recognised negotiating skills. We’re talking about Federico Freni. This year he has managed to reach some unexpected agreements by studying each dossier and coming up with solutions to get the more reluctant parties to agree ...more
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